Marine Preserves, Chernobyl as a Wildlife Reserve--Surprise Positives in 2015

In a year of discovery and much change, there were some hopeful stories, including wild boars and much other wildlife found thriving at the mostly human-free site of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown; certain penguins that benefit from warming temperatures; artists who use invasive plants as their main material; an anti-poaching group that has decreased poaching by a huge percentage; and others. Yay, 2015. (Photo : Photo : Valeriy Yurko)

A number of marine preserves were set aside, including in Chile and New Zealand.

Fishing was found to be better and more biodiverse near marine protected areas in California, and likely elsewhere too.

A house was designed where owners can raise tilapia and also keep cool in hot weather.

A very rare American chestnut tree was found in a pine forest in Maine. It is one of the few such American chestnuts still living, because others were killed by a blight by the mid-20th century. Its DNA has been stored in a gene bank.